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    Mango Kids Pool Villa — Gapyeong

    During this past Christmas break, Seoul instituted a ban on private gatherings of five or more people. Korea has been dealing with another wave of outbreaks this winter. While we have appreciated Korea’s overall response to the pandemic, for better or worse these restrictions have proven to be a bit isolating to this family of four.

    During a recent trip to see the Christmas lights at Garden of the Morning Calm, I saw a huge sign on the side of a building that said “Mango Kids Pool Villa.” Out of curiosity and with a possible trip in mind, I checked out their website and Leah and I decided to give them a try. 

    Mango Kids Pool Villa is about a 5–10 minute drive from the Garden of the Morning Calm in Gapyeong-gun. Over the last couple of years, we have grown to love the Gapyeong area as there is much to do and it is only about a 1.5–2 hour trip outside of Seoul.

    We stayed in Villa C, which is one of the more basic villas. 

    The main living area had all sorts of toy sets, costumes, and things to jump and climb on. 

    Pool Villa Play Area 2Pool Villa Trampoline

    There was a tiny room the girls called the “clubhouse” at the top of the padded stairs. The orange door below led to a 노래방 (no-rae-bang) or “karaoke room” complete with a disco ball and thousands of songs to choose from in Korean and English. This doubled as a bedroom for the girls in the evenings. We brought a Pack-n-Play for our almost 2-year-old, and the almost 4-year-old slept on a yo (Korean floor mattress). 

    Pool Villa Play Area 1

    The pool section was great for our young girls. It was heated and was a decent depth to wade around in.

    Pool Room Villa

    Though not thoroughly ventilated and a bit humid, the girls loved playing in the water, going down the slide, and the “rainbow’ and “donut” floaties. They also included life jackets. Only one was the right size for our girls, but the floaties worked great since we were in the pool with them.

    Pool Villa

    The bathroom was no-frills and a standard “shower on a floor” seen in many apartments in Korea. The bathroom did have a kid-sized toilet, high quality kids’ soap, and full sized towels! 

    Bathroom Pool Villa

    The master bedroom included a queen size bed, an adjoining twin size bed, and a monstrous tv. 

    Bedroom Pool Villa

    We were most impressed by how this hotel thought of everything for families with children. The kitchen came with all of the kids dishes and utensils guests could need, two Trip-Trapp style high chairs, and a Nespresso machine for the tired and weary parent. They also had bottle-cleaning supplies, pots & pans, and a basket of breakfast delivered to your door the night before. 

    If you choose, you can also pay an additional small fee to use the BBQ feature on the kitchen table and cook your own meat. 

    Kitchen Pool Villa

    So we could maximize time with the play equipment, I picked up pizzas and ice cream in a nearby town and we ate dinner in. (There is not much in the direct area outside of Korean bbq… it’s best to bring your own food and snacks unless you want to drive 20 minutes to a restaurant.)

    Pizza Pool Villa

    This hotel does not skimp on quality of supplies and preparation. Most of the toys are HAPE brand and had no missing pieces, stains, or damage. We did not feel worried about cleanliness as everything from the toys, appliances, and play equipment appeared to be regularly cleaned and sanitized.

    playplace pool villa dollhouse pool villa

    Overall Review and Cost: 
    It is obvious the owners of Mango Kids have put much time and intentionality into preparing a comfortable and exciting space for families. In addition to all of the supplies in the room, the villas also have a store in the office where you can borrow board games and buy supplies (including swim diapers). The facilities and toys are well maintained and cleaned regularly. While the price is rather steep (>500,000 KRW a night), the rooms are well supplied for a stress free visit, allowing parents and kids alike to enjoy the amenities. It also seems there are many more options available during the summer, including outdoor train rides, electric car rentals, and porches/decks with a bbq on some of the villas. I highly recommend this hotel for the occasional fun family trip. 

    Booking: 

    To book a pool villa, you may go to the Mango Kids website or you can call them directly (010‑8899-9059) after browsing through the different room options. There are staff members who speak English if needed. One booking tip that I’ve found on Korean hotel websites is to go to the 실시간예약 or “real-time reservation” page and you can see which rooms are available on your desired dates. 

     

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    Gender Reveal!

    We had another prenatal appointment last week. The technician did an anatomy scan and we found out the gender of our baby!

    We didn’t do a gender reveal party, but I created this Old Wives’ Tales graphic and posted it on Facebook. It was interesting how close the tallies were between boy and girl! (You can download a generic version of the Old Wives’ Tales Chart in my Etsy shop.)

     

    Baby Gender Old Wives' Tales

     

    I don’t believe any of these are actually telling about baby’s gender. Even though I haven’t had any nausea, David’s mom was sick the entire time for each of her five boys. My mom craved orange juice with my brothers. I will admit I tried the baking soda test, and that one happened to be accurate. I attempted to use the Ramzi Theory with photos from my earliest ultrasound, but it was after the fact and I wasn’t sure about the angle.

    David guessed boy, because that’s what he knows with four brothers. I guessed girl, but really had no clue.

    We found out we’re having a…

     

    20 weeks gender reveal - it's a girl!

     

    Girl!!! She’ll be the first girl grandchild on my side and the third grandgirl on David’s side.

    Everything is looking healthy. She measured a little small at the anatomy scan, but still within normal range. In the last week, I’ve felt a LOT of movement! David has also felt kicks with his hand on my stomach.

    And because why not, here’s a survey:

    • How far along? 20 weeks
    • Total weight gain: 5.8 pounds
    • Gender: Girl!
    • Name? We think we’ve chosen a first name, but won’t share until after she’s arrived.
    • Sleep: I’ve been sleeping through the night, but it’s hard to get comfortable! I’m using three pillows at the moment.
    • Exercise: I count the fact that I walk a lot here as exercise. I try to do a yoga video a couple times a week.
    • Best moment this week: Hearing that baby girl is doing well and sharing the gender with our family.
    • Movement: YES! Finally! Lots of movement and the occasional jab here and there.
    • Symptoms: Maybe a little fatigue, but overall feeling great. Lots of trips to the bathroom.
    • Food cravings: Fruit, juice, smoothies.
    • Food aversions: No real aversions.
    • Maternity clothes: I’ve used a belly band a handful of times with a pair of jeans. So far, I’ve gotten away with stretchy pants, skirts, and dresses. I have a feeling that I’ll soon be needing to use some of my official maternity wear!
    • What I miss: I feel very fortunate and at the risk of complaining – lying on my stomach to do computer work and coffee drinks. (Even though I’m not a coffee addict, there’s something comforting about a warm cup. Fortunately, there’s no Pumpkin Spice lattes in Korea to tempt me this fall. Unfortunately, they don’t sell decaf here either.)
    • Belly button in or out? Still in… but it’s more open?
    • Stretch marks? Nothing major that I can tell yet. I should probably start moisturizing though.
    • Milestones: We’re at the halfway point as of this past Monday!

    Keep growing, Baby Girl!

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    Our Next Adventure…

    We’ve been keeping a secret and are excited to finally share… we are expecting our first child February 13!!

     

    We are expecting our first child in February!

     

    How We (I) Found Out
    After finishing our first school year in Korea, we traveled back to the States in early June for summer vacation. We landed into Chicago. David flew out a few hours later to Virginia for a grad school class, and I spent a couple of nights in Chicago with my cousins. Seoul air quality had attacked me once again and I was sick with a sinus infection. Despite hacking up a lung, I had a great time with the girls.

    Next, I flew to Arkansas next to see my mom. We stayed a few nights at a camp to help with a VBS program. The sinus infection had spread to one of my eyes, and I finally went to a clinic and got a round of antibiotics.

    It was relief to finally have meds and be back at my mom’s house. We went to Walmart to do a little shopping. At this point, I didn’t think I was pregnant, but I was late. I knew travel and sickness could throw things off, and on a whim in the cosmetics area, I grabbed a pregnancy test. It was 88¢ and I figured it’d be good to know. When I met back up with Mom, I told her, “Don’t get your hopes up.” I waited a couple of days before I took the test.

    I took the test early one morning because I had woken up to use the bathroom. It was around 4:00 am. Imagine my surprise when a second line quickly appeared! I woke up Mom to confirm that it wasn’t just me and we marveled for a while before trying to go back to sleep.

     

    Positive pregnancy test

     

    David was in Virginia, and it was almost a week until I would see him again! It was hard to keep it a secret, but we didn’t talk a lot over that time. He was super busy with his class and only had cell service when there was WiFi. I did tell him that when I saw him I had a surprise for him and that I’d made him something.

    Before Mom and I drove to Virginia for David’s brother’s wedding, I put the test in a small box. Then I put that box in a larger box. The apps I downloaded gave me an estimated due date of February 14, so I cut out a construction paper heart, wrote “Will you be my Valentine?” and put that on top of the smaller box. (I wish I had taken a picture of it, but it’s back in the States.)

    Amidst the chaos of everyone arriving in Virginia on the same day, David and I were able to slip away at the end of the night. When he opened the first box, nothing registered. “Of course I’ll be your Valentine,” he said. And then he opened the smaller box. It was priceless to watch the realization and smile wash across his face. He was shocked!

     

    The Rest of the Summer
    After the excitement of the wedding, we slowly began to share the news with our family. We loved being able to tell them in person and have them join in the celebration.

    We told everyone in batches and didn’t have a grand plan of how to announce the news. We tried to be creative when the right moment presented itself. With David’s family, we went to a Chinese restaurant and David made a slip to put inside a fortunate cookie. With my sister, we were joking about Southern stereotypes on the back porch and I told her, “Well, at least I’ve got the barefoot and pregnant thing going.” When we saw my Dad, we were taking group pictures. I acted like I was taking a photo while videoing and said, “Ok, 1, 2, 3, say ‘Leah’s pregnant’!” We had fun with it.

    I’ve been so fortunate and haven’t had any morning sickness – just LOTS of fatigue! I wasn’t much of one for naps before, but I’ll take one now every chance I get.

    We had our first prenatal appointment in the States. I know seeing isn’t always believing, but watching our little one on the screen made it feel more real!

     

    10 week ultrasound

     

    Back in Korea
    We had our second appointment in Korea. Baby B was squirming all around and gave us a show. We asked the technician if she could tell us the gender, but Baby didn’t give us a good look. She gave us a guess, but told us it was unconfirmed and that we’d be able to tell at our next appointment.

     

    15 week ultrasound

     

    We marvel every day at how my belly grows bit by bit and are praying over his or her life!

     

    Answers to FAQ

    • We will have the baby in Korea at an awesome birthing center.
    • Baby will not have Korean citizenship – just US citizenship.
    • As long as everything’s healthy, we hope to travel home for Christmas and the summer.
    • My mom is planning to come to Korea for the birth and David’s parents hope to visit in April.
    • Your guess is as good as ours – we have no clue if the baby will have red hair. 🙂

     

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    Happily Vector After

    I’ve designed illustrated portraits for a couple of projects lately. I’ve been having a lot of fun creating them, so I thought I’d open up a digital shop for the holidays!

     

    Custom Illustrated Portrait Design

     

    Christmas is just around the corner! These vector portraits make great Christmas cards or gifts!

    If you’re interested in a custom portrait, please check out www.happilyvectorafter.com or message me at happilyvectorafter {at} gmail {dot} com.

     

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    Benedicts in Turkey: Ankara

    Even though the family drove from Istanbul to Ankara and got into the apartment around 3:00 am, they were troopers and woke up for church the next (same?) morning. It was the last Sunday David led worship. It was an emotional service. We were excited to introduce our family to our Turkey family, but we also had another round of goodbyes. The service included three baptisms, which was a joy to celebrate!

     

    David playing guitar at church

     

    After church, we had lunch at Arjantin Kebap, one of our favorites. It was the family’s first taste of Turkish food and çay.

     

    Lunch at Arjantin Kebap

     

    After lunch, we showed them our local pazar. We picked up a few goodies, though not a lot since we had a two-week trip ahead of us. They got a kick out of the vacuum accessories for sale.

     

    Balgat Pazar vegetables

     

    Pazar vacuum parts

     

    They napped that afternoon, the boys played sports at the school, and we spent the evening with some friends. We had showed them around the farm in Michigan two summers ago, so it was fun for the families to connect on the other side of the globe. During sports, someone made the comment: “The Benedict boys are a lot like the Puckett boys!” We enjoyed an evening of fellowship and the guys played a few dangerous rounds of sting pong. I’ll spare you the photos.

     

    Benedicts and Pucketts

     

    The next day, we put everyone on a dolumuş and took them to Ulus. Our friend Rex came with us. We showed them the Temple of Augustus, had manti and gözleme at Certioğlu Konağı Kafeterya, and walked up to the castle. We finished our time in Ulus with shopping at Yöre for pottery. David left us early to get the rental car, picked us up and took us back to the apartment.

     

    Ride in a dolmus

     

    Ulus street markets

     

    Lunch in Ulus

     

    Manti

     

    Mom waving on the Ankara Castle

     

    Benedicts in the Ulus Castle

     

    Boys overlooking Ankara

     

    Rooftops in Ulus, Ankara

     

    Ulus metal workers

     

    It was fun for us to see Turkey through our family’s eyes. For Dad, Sam, and Ben, it was their first time over the Pacific and it was Ben’s first time out of the country.

    That evening, we packed up as much as we could before our drive to Göreme (Cappadocia) in the morning!

     

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    Goodbye, Blue

    I had to say goodbye to one of my oldest and dearest friends on Saturday. My sister had been taking care of our cat and he got very sick. The vet said he most likely had a stroke. He was 19 years old.

    I first met Blue in Arkansas at my grandma’s house. Blue and his litter were born just a couple of weeks before we got there. There was a gray kitten, a black kitten, and three brown ones. My cousin, sister, and I spent two weeks doting on them. I was 8 and Mary was 5. I fell in love and Blue was my favorite. At the time, we called him Baby Blue because his eyes were blue and his fur was so silvery-gray it was almost blue. Grandma called him Blue Boy. At the end of our visit, I remember backing out of Grandma’s driveway crying and crying.

     

    Gray cat

     

    By some miracle, we finally convinced Mom and Dad to let us get a pet other than a fish. Mom went to visit Grandma later that year and brought Blue back with her. We were beyond excited and I carried him through the terminal.

    I wish I had more pictures of his kitten days. We have oh so many, but that was before things went digital. My mom took a photo of one of the photos and sent it to me… this is Mary playing tea party with water and Blue:

     

    Mary having a tea party with a kitten

     

    He was a cultured cat – he always came into the music room when I was practicing. I’ll never forget how he’d wince when I played a sour note on the violin. Ha!

    I guess he used up all of his nine lives. He’s fallen off the roof because of a window screen popping out and lived the last decade with kidney disease. Sometimes I thought Mom might kill him because he broke too many of her hens on a nest and Christmas ornaments. Even though he drove us crazy sometimes, he was a major part of my childhood and our family and I will miss him very much.

    Blue had a white heart on his tummy:

     

    Gray cat heart tummy

     

    Leah with her cat

     

    Gray cat lounging

     

    Gray cat in the light

     

    David and Blue

     

    This was the last time I saw him in December 2014:

     

    Leah's last time with Blue

     

    The vet made a paw print for my sister after they put him down. Such a sweet gesture.

     

    Blue's pawprint

     

    Goodbye, Blue Babe. I’ll miss you.

     

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    Benedict Family 2014

    This winter was the first time in a couple of years that all of David’s family was in Michigan. And it was the first Christmas we had with our sweet little nephew and niece! Even though we were home for only a short while, we were able to squeeze in a family photo.

     

    Benedict Family Winter 2014

     

    We took the photo New Years Eve Day (Dad’s birthday!) and it was freezing outside. Our friend Deanna Clark braved the cold with us and did an amazing job. It was probably one of the quickest photo sessions ever! The farm has so many interesting areas for pictures. I love that our photographer incorporated sap buckets since the family produces maple syrup.

    We’re so thankful for the time we spend with family!

     

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